Despite assurances from the government that a new PJ police station is planned for Faro (click here), the criminal investigation force is now considering relocating to another town due to the “constant delays”.
PJ police syndicate boss Ricardo Valadas said the police force have been in the same “rundown and inadequate” building for 20 years and Loulé could now be an option.
“No mayor is able to resolve this situation and governments continue to postpone the issue,” Valadas told Lusa news agency.
As the union boss points out, other regional delegations like Faro’s GNR police and civil protection have been forced to move out of the region’s capital due to a lack of alternatives in the town.
“Loulé has been the municipality that has, in a way, encouraged the possibility of these services being moved there,” Valadas said, adding that the current location of the PJ station in the centre of Faro jeopardises the safety of those who work there as well as those who seek their services as their right to safeguard their identity is compromised.
The syndicate boss believes that the former Health School at the entrance of Faro would have been “ideal” for a PJ police station, however, the building is due to be included in a national building renovation fund and reconverted into a university residence.
Valadas insists that moving the police force into the building “would not have cost anything” apart from small works.
In January, the government announced that a new PJ police station would be built from scratch in Faro but that it could take up to four years to be built.
